I actually prefer the Daily 3, which has a Shimano Nexus 7-speed internal gear hub, and therefore has a chainguard: http://www.globebikes.com/us/en/globe/GlobeBike.jsp?pid=11dailyUSstept3

The step-thru version is quite nice, with a traditional "loop frame" design, and it includes a front basket in place of the rear rack. David, perhaps you could include a picture of the step-thru version as well: http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/jeisenbe/Bikes/spec_36_daily_st_3_red_11_m.jpg

The only problem with this bike is the threadless step, which means the height of the handlebars is hard to adjust. The saddle is the same as that on the Globe Live which we own, and is rather narrow and uncomfortable, but that is often the case with OEM saddles.

I also prefer tires wider than 28 mm; even 32 mm would be more reasonable for the city (like on the Globe Live). But at least they have puncture protection, and the cream color on the blue frame looks great.

The geometry on this bike is an interesting compromise between the Globe Live (designed for loads on the front basket) and the Haul, meant for carring stuff on the rear rack. The Daily would be a good bike for a small front basket as well as rear panniers.

Compared to the Live ($880 for an 8-speed nexus hub) and Haul ($610 for a 7-speed derailer), the Daily 3 is a reasonable price for a good-looking, lightweight bike.

@missjulied Re: "not plenty of gears when you live several blocks up a 12% grade.

That's true with the stock gearing, which I believe is 42t front, 18t rear. The low gear is only 39 gear inches, while the high is 97 (good for nothing; well, other than pedaling DOWN 12% grades).

If you have the bike shop change the chainring and cog to, say, 36 and 22 (which will cost less $30 in parts, labor may be free at initial assembly), you get a low gear of 28 and high of 68 inches, which sounds great to me. You may need to stand up still to get up a 12% slope, but it should be doable, and your top pedaling-downhill speed is still 20 mph, which is as fast as I want to go.

Now, if you want to pedal uphill at 3 mph (walking speed) and downhill at 30 mph, you will need that Mountain triple chainring, or one of these: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shimano-nexus.html#11

The Daily 3 is definitely better due to the chainguard, and I like internal Nexus gears. As stated above, the tires are too narrow and the stem would probably leave a tall guy like me with the handlebars too low.

Threadless: Six here, half-dozen there. Quill stems with removable face-plates look TERRIBLE, and the convenience of the face-plate is huge--stem swaps are super easy. Also, long quills can feel noodle-y, especially with a loaded basket. Most importantly, with handlebars with lots of backward sweep like these, you don't need the h-bars too high.

Internal v. external gears: Again, both have advantages and disadvantages. I like the simplicity of the derailer for changing flats, adjusting/replacing bits, dealing with chain tension, etc. Three gears is sometimes not enough, and 7/8 speed hubs (while very cool) are heavy.

Of course, no bike is perfect, this one seems like a good mix of enough and not too much. And the fenders are REALLY LONG, and have an attractive shape.